Training Sim: Blurr and Hubcap vs. Grapple and Air Raid. And then Halligan.
AC Training Chamber This stark, spacious chamber is well reinforced and shielded to stand up to the strain of many practice bouts. A gleaming training drone stands in one corner of the room, ready for work. The walls are sheathed in reflective alloys, allowing the combatants to observe their motions and progress Blurr has come down to the simulator to run a few practice programs. That's what he usually does to unwind. Either that or a racetrack simulation. Certainly better than -fishing-, that was -boring-. And pointless. Why did Rodimus like fishing so much, anyway? Didn't really seem like something someone like him would enjoy. Standing near the control array, he scrolls through the various options he has available. Hmm...what's in the mood for? Volcanic planet? Icy planet? Forest? Racing? Or perhaps a better question is what does he -need-? Looking around the room, Hardhead makes his way towards a corner, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at his fellow Autobots. He emits a soft grunt as he maintains his usual grim demeanor. Grapple isn't often seen outside of his little workstation. For the most part, this is due to simply being a workaholic; drawing designs and templates is what he DOES. He's an architect! However, every once in a while, the higher-ups -- mostly Rodimus -- becomes 'concerned by solitary behavior' and forces him to do something else for a while. Which is why Grapple is now in the training room! ... Because he's bored out of his mind. He peeks in, checking to see if anyone else was in here first. Hubcap leaves the elevator and moves over to a wall, folding his arms and smirking slightly as he leans against it. Air Raid comes up behind Grapple and draws an arm around his shoulders, dragging him into the chamber. "Looks like Grapple wants to do some training!" he announces, mostly to Blurr. "Let's find something relatively easy for our little architect. I'm sure you're not doing anything important, Blurr." Grapple lets out an audible choking noise as Air Raid all too helpfully drags him inside. "I... I don't need...!" Help? Pity? Luck? "..EASY." Right, look tough for the big boys, Grapple. "I'm perfectly capable of handling a training exercise...!" Looking over towards Air Raid and Grapple, Hardhead nods towards the pair. "Taking the initiative in training Air Raid. Good." He looks at Grapple and shakes his head, "Grapple.....good luck." After a moment, he slides towards Hubcap and pulls out a data pad which he shows Hubcap. On the data pad is a list of Nebulan food ingredients. "I want these items. Can you deliver?" Blurr turns around when he hears his comrades enter, and smiles pleasantly at them. "Oh, perfect! I was just going to run a few automated training sessions, but none of those could ever beat sparring with a few friends." he says, nodding approvingly when Air Raid starts dragging Grapple inside. "Oh, Grapple! Good to see you, mech! You've come a just the right time." If anyone needs more practice, it's the architect. Turning around briefly once again, he powers up a simple holographic environment, consisting of a few rocky formation against a dark orange sunset. "We haven't seen Earth too much lately--so I figured we could use a little more practice on Earth-like terrain. Wouldn't want to be caught unprepared!" He pauses, turning back to face the group. "And speaking of being prepared....look sharp, Grapple!" Breaking part of a lamppost away from a lone highway nearby, he suddenly hurls it Grapple's way, spinning like a boomerang. Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blurr strikes Grapple with his Look Sharp! (Punch) attack! Well, that came out of nowhere. The spinning lampost smacks Grapple right in the face; he lets out a startled yelp before falling right back on his rear end. Oh, yeah. Luck? He's going to need lots of it. Grapple rubs his face, disoriented. "Oh, that was HIGHLY unfair." Hubcap says, "Blurr, remember Grapple has a good reach, Grapple, try to anticipate ... oh, ow." Then Hardhead takes his attention. He glances over the list quickly, before appearing to return his attention to the combat area. "Yup," he mutters, "Under the counter, I presume?"" Air Raid shoots Hardhead a righteous salute, but doesn't get a chance to respond to Grapple. "YARGH!" He ducks out of the way as Blurr hurls a lamp post, and dusts himself off from a distance. "Go get 'em tiger!" he shouts at Grapple. Blurr says, "Air Raid, you're on Grapple's team. Give him some uh...advice." Air Raid snorts. "A'ight fine." Air Raid abruptly shouts, "Sweep the legs!" For once, Hardhead returns Air Raid's salute, not something he does often. He then looks back at Hubcap, Hardhead nods his head in the affirmative, he then slips the minibot a credit chit. "For your initial expenses..." Grapple stumbles back up, still rubbing his face. "WHAT legs, I was struck with a lamp post!" Once he's no longer nursing the minor wound, he glares at Air Raid. Then, he picks up the same lamp post and throws it at him; looks like Grapple is having a little temper tantrum Blurr tsks at Grapple. "You ought to be more -prepared- than that!" he says, shaking his head. "The Decepticons aren't going to wait until you're -ready-." And then he goes and attacks Air Raid. "Um, hello!" he laughs, shaking his head again. "Wrong team, pal. I just said on the comms, Air Raid is on your team. You probably shouldn't go and attack him." But the fight is still on! He doesn't miss a beat, dashing behind the two of them and attempting to nail them in the rears. Combat: Blurr strikes Grapple with his Quickdraw Area attack! Combat: Blurr misses Air Raid with his Quickdraw Area attack! Looking at the others, Hardhead shrugs as he pats Hubcap on the shoulder. "You are entitled to some profit...but don't get greedy." He states nonchalantly as he walks out. "Ten Credits on Air Raid and Grapple." He states, his back turned before he pushes out the door. Hubcap shakes his head and waves a hand. "Hey, let's not go picking sides here, If you're gonna give advice, give it to everyone, there're no 'Cons here." He waves his hands theatrically, and somehow the credit chip has vanished! Air Raid gets whapped upside the face with the damn lamp post by his unlikely opponent. "What the frag! Okay shortstack, you wanna' tango?" He grins and lunges at Grapple - only to get thrown off balance by Blurr's shots. "Well FINE!" He whirls, drawing his rifle. Combat: Air Raid sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Air Raid strikes Blurr with his Laser attack! Combat: Air Raid (Air Raid) used "Laser": A Level 2 RANGED attack. Grapple lets out a fairly high pitched yelp as he's shot in the aft. "Really?! THAT'S where you're shooting?!" Oooh, he looks annoyed, now. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "Hmph." He finally, finally takes out his own gun to shoot back! Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Fearless. Blurr says, "Hubcap, my team? Well, we're in the same division, anyway." Halligan walks into the training room without making a fuss and watches from the sidelines. Combat: Grapple strikes Blurr with his Pistol attack! Combat: Grapple (Grapple) used "Pistol": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Hubcap says, "Wow, you must be desperate!" Blurr says, "Oh, stop demeaning yourself. Poor self-esteem is never healthy." Air Raid says, "Wha'..." Torque says, "What're you mechs up to?" Halligan says, "Either practice or a test of mechliness depends on who you are asking." Air Raid and Grapple finally open fire, managing to graze him in the sides. "That's it, Grapple, that's it!" he encourages. "You're getting better! Air Raid--try -not- to attack your own team, yeah?" he laughs, putting a bit of distance between himself and the Aerialbot. Transforming down into his hovercar form, he speeds toward Air Raid in an attempt to slam him into a tall rock formation behind him. In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Hubcap says, "Okay, okay, I'm on your team." Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar misses Air Raid with his Ram attack! Torque says, "Oh, that second one sounds entertaining." Air Raid looks somewhat bewildered over /some/thing. He stares at Blurr, but shakes himself just in time to roll out of the way of the hovercar. "Hey mech!" he greets Halligan from the edge of the simulation. When Hubcap is dragged into the match, he readily shifts his focus, transforming mid-jump and tearing skyward. "Let's go bud!" Air Raid shifts and twists into his black F-15E Strike Eagle mode. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Hubcap with his M61 Vulcan attack! Grapple blinks up in surprise as Hubcap joins the fray. He actually gives off a small wave before turning to Blurr as he drives back. And, for a moment, he feels.. A little bit stupid. Under any other circumstance, he likely wouldn't dream about doing something like this. But he's feeling pretty annoyed right now, and he's in a training exercise that he feels disgruntled with, so... He jumps on Blurr as he drives by. Or tries to! Combat: Grapple strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with his JUMP ON YOU (Grab) attack! Combat: Grapple (Grapple) used "Grab": A Level 0 MELEE attack. Hubcap recoils as he's hit just after he's dragged off the bench. Staggering to his feet, he clenches his fist, and starts to manipulate the soundwaves. Thrusting out his hand, he mutters, "I hear you." "Nice!" Blurr calls out as Air Raid jumps out of the way -just- in time! "You guys are getting b--" And then Grapple jumps on him. Now, Grapple, being a crane designed for building projects, and Blurr being a sleek racing machine...well, Grapple's significantly larger. PLUNK. "Oof!" The hovercar sinks slightly, and his undercarriage grazes the rocky terrain, sending bits of dirt and small stones flying up behind him. "Hmm...not sure if that was a good move, Grapple. Guess we'll have to find out!" he chuckles as he suddenly speeds up, accelerating past the sound barrier. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Grapple with his Not a Good Move? attack! Combat: Hubcap strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Super Hearing attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited F-15E Strike Eagle 's Agility! (Crippled) F-15E Strike Eagle twirls aimlessly after the volley of shots, and certainly does not expect piercing soundwaves to pound his frame. "Aah! Sunnuvaglitch!" He winces as panels of his armor warp and threaten to rattle off. "CAN YOU HEAR THIS!" he cries, kicking up his thrusters to produce a shockwave as he swoops down near Hubcap. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle 's Buzz the Tower attack aimed for Hubcap backfires! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes himself with his Buzz the Tower attack! "Ha!" And, for a moment, Grapple actually feels victorious. "I'm fairly certain thaaaAAAH!" Oh, and then Blur had to speed up. Oh, no. Oh, dear. Two seconds later, Grapple is sprawled out on the floor, having fallen off of Blurr as he zoomed off. "...Ow." A small whimper. Air Raid dissolves into curses. "GRAPPLE I HOPE YOU'RE KICKING AFT." Grapple lets out a garbled whimper. "Things are spinning." First Aid says, "You can do it, Grapple! I have faith in you." Combat: Grapple takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Halligan prepares to jump into the frey. The Autobot's leg opens and out comes a pistol (kinda Robocop). His left hand reaches for his back unhooking his rear doors to use as a ballistic shield. He starts advancing shield first, looking through the slot, pistol in overhead mode using the laser for targeting. Halligan takes aim at the vulnerable Grapple and fires off a shot. Combat: Halligan strikes Grapple with his Laser-Sighted Pistol (Pistol) attack! "I told you so!" Blurr laughs triumphantly as he leaves Grapple whimpering on the ground. He transforms and aims his electro-laser up at Air Raid, hoping to knock him out of the air. "Well, you live and learn, right? Next time you'll know better!" The hovercar quickly unfolds upward and outward to reveal the fastest terrestrial Cybertronian in the galaxy, Blurr! Combat: Blurr strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Electro-Laser attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle has been temporarily incapacitated. F-15E Strike Eagle gets a bit too close to his own destructive force and ends up shattering every bit of glass on him. "FFFFFFFFFFRAG!" he screams, tumbling out of the sky and transformer to skid across the dusty landscape. <> Before he has a chance to stand, Blurr smacks him with some heavy voltage that leaves him smoking on his back. Hubcap glances around, then whistles innocently as he stamps on the large plane. "Oh my, what was that? Perrhaps Blurr should have made sure Grapple really was incapacitated; as Air Raid is suddenly the focus of attack, Grapple shifts in to vehicle mode and.. Charges at Blurr. And swings his crane. Crane attaaaack! Grapple shifts and changes form with those happy little transforming noises in to a bright yellow crane! Yay! Combat: Grapple strikes Blurr with his Crane Arm attack! Combat: Grapple (Grapple) used "Crane Arm": A Level 6 MELEE attack. Combat: Hubcap strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Break damn you! (Kick) attack! Halligan continues advancing on the fighting pair and opens up on Blurr. A few pistol rounds to test the speedster's level of injury. The SWAT officer does not seem to be on a particular side. He is possibly trying to take down everyone. Combat: Halligan strikes Blurr with his Laser-Sighted Pistol (Pistol) attack! Combat: Halligan (Halligan) used "Pistol": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Blurr smirks as he watches Air Raid fall to the ground and lie still. But he's so busy reveling in -that- victory that he doesn't see Grapple's crane arm swinging toward him. And -then- someone else's pistols slam him in the back. Who the--?! He glances backward briefly and spots a 'Bot he doesn't recognize. Hmm...he'll have to meet him later. For now, he focuses his efforts on Grapple. "Not bad, Graps! Keep up the good work!" Yes, keep up the good work while the speedster charges right back. Combat: Blurr strikes Grapple with his Keep Up the Good Work! (Ram) attack! F-15E Strike Eagle gets stomped by Hubcap, which is unpleasant. He drags himself up and comes at Hubcap with the intent to pick him up and hurl him into the nearest boulder! Because apparently Hubcap is a minibot. Belatedly, he notices Halligan bringing the rain. "Yeah! Take 'em down!" Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Combat: Air Raid strikes Hubcap with his EAT ROCK (Kick) attack! Grapple gave it a good go. He had to say that much, at least. As Blurr rams him in to the ground -- AGAIN -- the architect just kind of lies there for a moment. "..Can I stop now?" He sounds a bit winded. "I think I should stop now." This was, after all, a TRAINING exercise and not a real battle. Blurr finally stops when Grapple starts whining, looking down at him with a raised optic ridge. "Stop? Really? You think the Decepticons would just...-stop- when you get 'tired'? Doubt it. I mean come on now--we've been at this for what, a few breems? You really need to work on building your stamina." he chastises, folding his arms. Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Halligan returns his pistol into the leg holster. The ballistic shields folds in two reducing it's size to a more maneuverable riot shield. A flick of the wrist and out comes the ASP Baton. Halligan charges Grapple and and swings like an LA Cop with no dash cam but stops short after the architect basically surrenders. Hal keeps an optic open in case another one makes a move towards him. Combat: Halligan takes extra time to steady himself. Pass With everyone else still fighting, Grapple manages to move off to the sidelines. He just sits there to watch the continuing match, looking more than a little discouraged. Aw, he failed very badly. Poor Grapply. Hubcap flails helplessly as he is thrown head-first into a rock. Climbing to his feet, he promptly falls over. Twice. "I, I'm fine, thank you Susan!" Blurr shakes his head as Grapple moves off to the sidelines. Well, it was an improvement, at least. He gives Hubcap a confused look. "Who's Susan?" Then he turns to Halligan. "And who're -you-? I don't think I've met you." Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Air Raid stands victoriously, hands on his hips. Macho mech. "All right, who's next!" he yells across the simulation. Halligan looks like a decent target! Despite the assist. "Shieldbot!" he calls, his warbow shimmering out of subspace. An electified energy arrow manifests on his hardlight string that he yanks back and releases with a -twing!- Combat: Air Raid strikes Halligan with his Voltramite Warbow attack! Halligan gets nailed in the back by Air Raid right after introducing himself to Blurr "The name's Halligan SWAAAAAAARRG". Halligan flips his shield to protect his back incase Blurr goes for a cheap shot and charges Air Raid with the baton. Combat: Halligan sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Halligan strikes Air Raid with his Beating like he owes you money attack! "What?" Blurr looks a little confused by the introduction. "Is your name 'Halligan' or 'SWAAAAAAARRG'?" he asks, attempting to imitate the way it was said the best he can. Of course, he has to take a cheap shot anyway. "Which team are you on, anyway?" Combat: Blurr misses Halligan with his Cheap Shot (Laser) attack! Air Raid chuckles haughtily, but his smirk is wiped right off his face when Halligan comes charging at him with some serious batonage. "AAAGHH!" And his screams become muffled as he's pounded into the ground. Combat: Air Raid takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Halligan stops pounding Air Raid into the ground just long enough to notice Blurr's laser missing by not that much. Hal spins around dropping into a crouch and fires off his taser hoping to slow down the famous speedster. "Halligan's the name." Combat: Halligan misses Blurr with his Wrist Taser attack! -2 Combat: Halligan (Halligan) used "Wrist Taser": A Level 2 RANGED attack. Halligan says, "I am on the little guy's team. Always protect the little guy." Hubcap shakes his head to throw off the lingering effects of the rock, then points at the enemy. Rapidly, the laser in his arm snaps open and fires. Combat: Hubcap strikes Air Raid with his Am I actually supposed to use this? (Laser) attack! Air Raid groans as he lies in his little crater, glaring at the false sky. The Hubcap hits him while he's down! Righting himself, he grabs a bunch of explosive arrows and nocks them haphazardly, firing them straight up in the air. Combat: Air Raid strikes Halligan with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Halligan's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Air Raid misses Blurr with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: Air Raid (Air Raid) used "Grenade Arrow Strafe": A Level 4 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Air Raid strikes Hubcap with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Hubcap's Agility. (Crippled) Blurr smirks as he sidesteps slightly to avoid Halligan's taser. "Nice to meet you, Halligan. Welcome to our training exercise." he says, smirk turning into a polite smile. "You should probably work on your aim, and your reflexes." he comments. Air Raid's arrows fly everywhere, but the courier twists and dodges through all of them. "You too, Air Raid. You should be careful with those, we generally try not to hit our teammates." Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Halligan gets his again by another arrow BOOM in the back again! The Autobot buckles slightly as he was already kneeling. The Autobot puts away all the small gadgets and pulls out his main tool. The massive autobot stands back up and turns to face Air Raid. Suddenly his hands are not holding a small pistol or baton but a pretty big TF-sized SPAS-12 Shotgun. "Allright you are a bit too dangerous to leave unchecked. Gloves are coming off." Combat: Halligan strikes Air Raid with his SPAS-12 Shotgun attack! Air Raid leers at Blurr, shaking slightly from his sustained damage. His optics snap wide when Halligan draws a shotgun and nails him with it. Good ole' simulated pain. He drops to a knee, but he's not out just yet, nocking another arrow. "Come at me!" Combat: Air Raid strikes Halligan with his Torque Arrow attack! Blurr is still not sure which team Halligan is on, so he supposes it's a free-for-all, now. Running in circles, his weapons expand out of subspace and a volley of lasers pierce the simulated air at the other two 'Bots. Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Blurr misses Halligan with his Quickdraw Area attack! Combat: Blurr strikes Air Raid with his Quickdraw Area attack! Halligan winces a bit at the unconventional ammunition. A Torque arrow twists the armor shredding it and creating an ugly little hole. "Your file did not mention anything about bow and arrow. I will keep that in mind. Come at you? Ok." The Autobot transforms and charges the Aerialbot with his reinforced bumper. Transformation probably saved him from Blurr's attack. The speedster's turn will come soon enough. Halligan folds down into a dark blue armored SWAT van. Combat: Lenco Armored Truck strikes Air Raid with his Forced Entry attack! Air Raid catches Blurr's laserfire right on the chest, and some unhappy HUD warnings tell him he'd better call it quits. Halligan's next lovely attack seals the deal as Raid's totally mowed over and left partially crunched into the ground. "Uughh, okay I give! Ease up, I'm out!" Blurr has stopped running, and is watching Halligan mow over Air Raid with mild interest from a slight distance off. "Not bad Halligan, I'm impressed!" he compliments. "Air Raid's easy, though. Why don't you test your aim on -me-?" he challenges, standing there with his arms crossed. "We'll start off easy--I won't drive in circles." Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Air Raid mutters angrily and snaps at the simulator to clear his damage as he stalks towards the sidelines, warbow vanishing into subspace. Combat: Air Raid resets himself. Lenco Armored Truck re-transforms into robot mode and slowly advances towards Blurr being careful not to commit himself too quicklyas he will simply look like an idiot. The SWAT officer advances arms opened like a grappler...flexing his fingers...from the left wrist a small fork tied to a cable shoots out hoping to either tag or force Blurr to commit. Combat: Lenco Armored Truck sets his defense level to Fearless. The blue armored SWAT van unfolds into the bulky form of Halligan. Combat: Halligan misses Blurr with his Wrist Taser attack! -1 Combat: Halligan (Halligan) used "Wrist Taser": A Level 3 RANGED attack. Blurr sidesteps again, letting the taser fork go past him. "Too slow!" he smirks. "Couple more tries, and we'll call it a solar cycle, yeah? Don't feel bad if you can't land a hit. Not very many people can on a regular basis." It's true, but he tries not to sound insensitvive. Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Halligan's leg opens and ejects the pistol straight into his waiting hand. "Indeed you are fast and my systems are slightly damaged. Let's see if you are faster than a speeding bullet." With that he fires off a few rounds. Combat: Halligan misses Blurr with his Laser-Sighted Pistol (Pistol) attack! Combat: Halligan (Halligan) used "Pistol": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Blurr twists, turns, and jumps, dancing out of the way of each pistol round fired. "Faster than a speeding bullet?" he repeats, once he comes through unscathed. "Hmm, I guess it would depend on what kind of gun it was. But I must be faster than your trigger figner!" "Hmm, maybe a few drones would be more on your level?" he asks, moving back over to the simulator controls again. Halligan stands down and returns the pistol to the holster. "Too fast for me today." he says with a thin smile "I will indeed work on my reflexes and accuracy for our next training session. He offers a handshake and heads off to help out the humans. (Aaaand the player heads for his bed. Catch you guys later! :) )